Steely Dan

Courtesy/YouTube

Courtesy/YouTube

Oct. 24

Donald Fagen has done plenty without Walter Becker, the guitarist who died last month, widely-regarded to be Fagen’s lesser half in Steely Dan. There were the several early ‘90s “Rock and Soul Review” shows (though Becker showed up for some of them too), “The Nightfly,” “Bright Lights, Big City,” “Kamakiriad,” and so on. There were a lot of shows. But now that Becker is gone, it’s harder—not easier—to see Fagen as Steely Dan’s Only Essential Player. Go back and listen to ‘Bad Sneakers’ and ‘Black Friday’ from 1975’s “Katie Lied.” Those snarling, grindy, almost sloppy guitar solos add just the right against-the-grain profanity atop Fagen’s OCD smooth keyboard arrangements. And, yeah, of course: Any one or three of several dozen virtuoso guitarists can be counted on to reproduce, note-for-note, the sounds Becker played. But there he still is, on the promo photo. He is missed. 8 p.m., Pier Six Pavilion, 731 Eastern Ave., (703) 573-7328, livenation.com/venues/14732/pier-six-pavilion, $35-$400. (Edward Ericson Jr.)